Middlesbrough did what they had to do and won at Rotherham to give themselves a chance of sneaking into the play-offs but Derby’s victory consigned the club to another season in the Championship.

Two goals in the first half effectively finished the match as a contest but Rotherham, who will be playing League One football next season, deserve credit for staying in the game and did pull one back from the spot late on.

There’s plenty of time for inquests into why Boro have once again failed to win promotion but the focus in the immediate aftermath of the match should be the club’s magnificent supporters, who were 100% behind the team from the first minute until the last at the New York Stadium. Middlesbrough may not be a top flight club but they have Premier League supporters.

Here’s the story of the match.

Win and hope for the best

From the sunny optimism of Millwall on the opening day to hope over expectation at an overcast Rotherham, Middlesbrough’s season came down to a final day battle for sixth place.

Tony Pulis at Rotherham

Whatever Tony Pulis may say about balancing the books and safeguarding the club’s financial future, his team were hot tips for automatic promotion back in August.

That was largely based on the cost of his players and, in fiscal terms, Boro against relegated Rotherham was men against boys.

Totted up on the back of fag packet, Pulis’s starting XI was acquired at a cost of roughly £55m, which is a small fortune in Championship terms.

But they went into the match knowing their destiny was out of their hands. A Derby win against West Brom at Pride Park would make the outcome at Rotherham academic.

But if the Rams dropped points, a win over the Millers would secure sixth place and a chance to escape the second tier via the play-offs.

Boro unchanged

Pulis named an unchanged team for a fixture he had to win, keeping faith with the players that overcame Reading 2-1 at the Riverside.

He also stuck to the 5-1-2-2 formation that’s been his preferred system for the majority of matches since the win at Blackburn back in February.

That meant Jonny Howson and George Saville played as wing-backs either side of central defenders Paddy McNair, Aden Flint and Ryan Shotton.

Britt Assombalonga is congratulated by Ashley Fletcher after winning a penalty kick at Rotherham

Skipper John Obi Mikel patrolled the zone in front of the defence while Lewis Wing and Mo Besic were tasked with attacking midfield roles.

Ashley Fletcher and Britt Assombalonga continued as the front pairing.

Rotherham, meanwhile, line-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and, with one player walking out of the tunnel carrying a toddler, it looked like the season was as good as over for them.

The game kicked off a couple of minutes late with the Boro fans making all the noise behind Darren Randolph’s goal.

It was a typically scrappy opening littered with mistakes and the visitors took time to settle.

In the sixth minute Rotherham striker Michael Smith found himself in space to the right of goal and, from a tight angle, hit a powerful cross/shot that Randolph had to push away to stop the ball creeping in at the far post.

Boro finally forced a corner in the 10th minute which Howson played low to Saville waiting on the edge of the box but as he prepared to shoot the former Millwall midfielder was closed down and he drilled a poor effort well wide.

Chances go begging for Boro

Pulis’s side struggled for momentum and, just after the quarter hour mark Rotherham won the ball back on the left side of the Boro box before Clark Robertson sent over a cross that Semi Ajayi headed over.

Seconds later Middlesbrough broke but Assombalonga, who was through on goal with the keeper to beat, rolled a weak shot wide of Lewis Price’s left-hand post. That didn’t please his manager, who turned away in the technical area with his head in his hands.

His mood won’t have improved in the 21st minute when Besic and Assombalonga linked up well to feed Fletcher, who directed his shot wide from a position just inside the penalty area.

Britt Assombalonga of Middlesbrough converts a penalty kick for his sides first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match at the New York Stadium, Rotherham Picture by Matt Wilkinson/Focus Images Ltd 07814 960751 05/05/2019

At least Boro were starting to create opportunities and, with news coming through that Derby were winning, they certainly needed to, just in case West Brom managed to equalise.

The visitors won a free-kick on the right midway inside the Rotherham half in the 25th minute but, from a central position, Shotton headed Wing’s well-directed delivery over the bar.

Two minutes later, Matt Crooks pulled a low ball back from the by-line to the unmarked Smith who sliced a woeful effort well off target.

Boro breakthrough

Middlesbrough finally took the lead in the 28th minute when a neat flick from Fletcher sent Assombalonga clear but the striker was pulled down by Robertson.

It was Assombalonga who took the spotkick, lashing the ball low and hard to the keeper’s right to put his side in front.

Boro went close to grabbing a second on the half-hour mark when Fletcher played a lovely ball into space for Assombalonga to run on to inside the box but his shot from a tight angle flashed across the face of goal from right-to-left.

Once again his miss was greeted with a show of frustration from his manager.

But Pulis’s mood will have improved massively in the 37th minute when Wing’s left-wing corner was knocked down by McNair and the ball was deflected to Mikel who hit an unstoppable shot into the net from the edge of the box.

Price did get a hand to the ball but the sheer power of the finish made it impossible to direct it away from his goal.

Boro’s improvement over the second half of the first period resulted from faster, slicker passing in the opposition half and intelligent running on and off the ball.

John Obi Mikel's shot crosses the line to put Boro 2-0 up at Rotherham despite the efforts of keeper Lewis Price

First time balls and clever interchanges caused Rotherham all sorts of problems and it’s no exaggeration to say that Middlesbrough could have had five before the break.

Good news from Derby

There was a change for the hosts at half-time with Ryan Williams replacing Anthony Forde.

Moments after the second half kicked-off there was a huge roar from the away end as news filtered through from Derby that West Brom had equalised.

On the pitch, Rotherham started with more intent than they’d shown for much of the first half, no doubt following a half-time blast from manager Paul Warne. But they were unable to test Randolph in the Boro goal.

Ajayi did fire a hopeful long-range effort high over the bar in the 57th minute and Williams had a shot deflected wide just before the hour mark.

At the other end, Besic blasted over in the 62nd minute.

Bad news from Pride Park

Rotherham kept plugging away and it took a last-ditch Saville block to keep out a shot from Joe Newell in the 68th minute.

Then came the news that Boro fans were dreading with confirmation that Derby had re-taken the lead at Pride Park flashing up on the big screen.

Understandably, that muted the mood in the away though the fans soon started singing: “We love you Boro we do.”

Middlesbrough fans celebrate John Obi Mikel's goal

Randolph made his now weekly wonder save in the 71st minute when he kept out Ajayi’s header from Newell’s right-wing corner.

Another bombshell dropped with news that Derby had further increased their lead and, from a mood of optimism, Boro were suddenly playing for pride while hoping for a massive late favour from West Brom.

Rotherham had a penalty appeal turned down in the 74th minute after Williams cross hit Saville on the hand but the referee wasn’t interested.

Randolph made another brilliant save as the game entered the final 10 minutes, sticking out his right-leg to keep out Kyle Vassell’s low shot.

Then, Pulis made his first change, sending on Stewart Downing for Fletcher and, in the 81st minute, he made his second, replacing Besic with Adam Clayton. The third came in the 84th minute as Marcus Tavernier was given a run-out in place of Besic.

It was Rotherham who scored the next goal, though, with Smith converting a penalty in the 85th minute after Mikel tripped Vassell inside the box.

That came just moments after Vassell had thumped a powerful drive onto Randolph’s right-hand post.

United couldn’t force an equaliser but the result that mattered was at Pride Park where Derby won 3-1 to secure sixth position.